Breathe Me
by RussianWolf7
Summary: I'm so bad at these. New girl with issues comes to school, becomes friends with Manny and Emma, Jay decides he wants her...You know the drill. Story's better than the summary.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Breathe Me

**Pairing:** Mostly Jay/Other, maybe some Emma/Manny if I get around to it, but probably not maybe.

**Warnings:** Probably eventually sex, but nothing yet.

**Word Count:** 1690

**Rating:** PGish for now

**Spoilers:** Stuff woth Craig (very sort of) and Jay & Emma stuff.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**Author's Note:** This doesn't take place in a specific time. In fact, the timeline makes no sense. Sean is around, but it's after he supposedly moved to Wasaga Beach, and all sorts of other weird timeline things. Try not to let it worry you, okay?

_Breathe Me_

Jay stalked through the halls looking like death warmed over. His head was pounding, his stomach turning, the lights and sounds of Degrassi amplified a billion times over. He slammed open the nearest door, looking for some peace and quiet before homeroom. That was the thing about staying out all night—there were very rarely clocks, and while he usually showed up late, there was the occasional time where he showed up an hour or two early. But instead of finding a nice, empty room, he burst in on a group of people sitting in a circle.

"Jay Hogart, what a surprise!" Darcy Edwards stoop up, skipping over to where he stood. "It's so great to see you here, at seven in the morning no less. Come on in and pull up a chair."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What is this, fag club?"

Darcy's smile hardened. "Friendship Club. And judging from your bloodshot eyes and the fact that you don't seem quite sure where you are, let alone when, I'd say you could use some new friends." She put a hand on his arm and he jerked away.

"Yeah, I don't think so." He turned to leave, shoving her on his way out.

Darcy stared after Jay, then pushed him back. He stumbled, and turned around to face her. She smirked. "Just because the Lord is merciful to drunks doesn't mean I have to be."

Jay smiled, the one that made her take a step back. "Boy, you've picked the wrong person to mess with." He dropped his bag and advanced, fully prepared to take out his hangover on the closest person; in this case the Jesus-loving, drunk-hating girl standing in front of him.

"Jason! What do you think you're doing?"

He turned around to see Mr. Simpson standing in the doorway. "Nothing, sir," he said, picking up his bag and brushing past his teacher.

"I knew seeing you here this early was a bad sign. Why don't you go catch up on your homework? You owe me two spreadsheets, and…you're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" he trailed off.

Jay raised a hand as he turned the corner. He shook himself; beating up little Christian kids wasn't his style. He liked a good fight, not picking on kids half his size. He saw the door to the stairs and, suddenly inspired, headed that way. The basement was usually deserted, especially the boiler room. He had copped a few feels, had a few beers, smoked a few joints down there, and it seemed like a good place to grab a nap before class started.

He made his way through the maze of the basement with practiced ease, staying quiet in case the janitor was lurking around somewhere. He stopped outside the boiler room, hand on the door, listening for anyone. He frowned. Instead of the janitor scuffling around, or the heavy metal he was known for listening to, classical music drifted out the door. Piano, to be precise. Jay slid down the wall, closing his eyes as he went. It was actually kind of soothing, he thought, letting himself drift off.

_Just what I need…_

"Hey. You. Bell's about to ring."

Jay woke up with a start, instinctively grabbing his bag. He blinked, trying to remember if he was still at the party or not. A not-so-light kick to his ribs only confused him more.

"I'm leaving. Good lucking getting to homeroom on time."

Jay managed to focus and saw a girl walking away. He jumped to his feet and ran to catch up with her. She was short, with long hair dyed a light purple. She was wearing jeans, a miniskirt and a shirt with some band he had never heard of on it. She gave him a quizzical look as she started up the stairs.

"Can I help you?"

"I—what were you doing down there?" he asked, thrown off by her attitude. The boiler room had been his secret place, and this girl he had never seen before was acting like she owned the place. "Who are you?"

She glanced at him. "Ham. And I'm late."

She disappeared into a classroom, leaving Jay staring after her. She sat next to Manny, pointing at him and saying something that made them start giggling. He glared at them, and hurried off to class. If he was actually at school, he might as well be on time.

"Hey Sean, you got held back."

Sean shrugged out from under Jay's arm. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me."

"Dude, I need your help." Jay grabbed his arm and pulled him around the corner. "There's this new girl in your grade and—"

"So talk to her yourself. What's your problem?"

"She stole the boiler room."

Sean stared at Jay. "She stole the—what are you talking about?"

­Jay told him what had happened. "It's my—"

"You got here early this morning, and now you're freaking out about a girl? What's gotten into you?"

"Especially when you can just talk to her yourself."

Jay spun around. The new girl—did she really say her name was Ham?—was standing in front of him, flanked by Emma and Manny.

Emma glared at him. "Come on, let's just go."

New Girl smiled. "No, I wanna see how he gets himself out of this."

Sean elbowed him. "That makes two of us."

Jay glared at him, glanced at the wall, and then turned back to the girls. He gave them his best I'm—so—cool look and said, "Ladies."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I am so out of here." She left, flipping her hair as she went.

"Meet you in the café," Manny said before going after her.

"Jay Hogart, right? And Sean Cameron? According to Emma, I shouldn't be talking to either of you."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you."

She smiled at Jay. "Never said it would. So, why are you concerned with my supposed stealing of your precious boiler room?"

"I—It's quiet down there," Jay said defensively.

"You don't strike me as the type of guy to like quiet.­"

Jay stared at her. "What did you say your name was?"

She smiled. "Ham. Most people don't forget it."

Jay smiled back. "Well, Ham, a bunch of us are hanging out at the ravine tonight for a not—so—quiet time. See you there?"

Ham smirked. "I don't think so." She turned to leave, calling over her shoulder, "I don't need any wire bracelets, thanks. I'm more of a diamonds girl."

Jay stared after her, barely hearing Sean's laughing, or the accompanying, "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."

­

"What was that about?" Emma asked as Ham sat down next to her. "Why were you even talking to him?"

"I like to put guys in their place. And it seems that you're right; he desperately needs it."

"Oh, is that what you were doing? Because it sure looked like you were flirting with him."

"If that's what I was doing, I would've agreed to go to the ravine with him tonight," Ham said, taking a huge bite of her sandwich.

"He what?" Emma exclaimed.

"Em, relax. It's not like she said yes," Manny interrupted.

"Just be careful of him. Sean, too," she cautioned, picking at her food.

"So you've said. Jay didn't seem too thrilled when I mentioned wire bracelets…"

"Oh, you didn't!"

Manny laughed. "Come over tonight. Emma and I will tell you all the dirty little secrets of Degrassi's least wanted."

"Speaking of…" Emma trailed off as Toby came up to their table.

"Ladies…"

"Oh, and avoid Craig at all costs," Manny added. "Unless you want to—"

"Hang on, my phone…" Ham dived into her bag and pulled out her phone. _I wanna spike your milk with wine…_

Manny snorted. "Nice ring tone."

Ham snorted as answered, "Hello?"

"You're not at the ravine."

"Uh huh. Considering I said I wasn't coming, that's not all that surprising, now is it?"

"Who is it?" Emma asked.

Ham waved her aside. "Actually, how did you get this number?"

"A little of this, a little of that, a little stealing Toby's cell phone…"

"Cute. You're trying to impress me by bullying my friends. Not going to work, sorry."

"Normally I'd skip ahead and wait for you to come around, but I actually really hate being blown off."

"Shame."

"You say that, but you haven't hung up."

Ham smiled, leaning back. "You amuse me."

"Is that Jay?" Emma asked.

She made hushing motions as Jay said, "I'm not sure how much I like that."

Ham rolled over onto her stomach. "You're ridiculous. Does this actually work on anyone?"

"Actually, yes." He paused. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

"Me? I'm the one who's supposed to be annoying?" Ham laughed. "How do you figure?"

"You…get stuck in people's heads. And don't get out."

"People."

"People like me." Jay paused. "Look, do you want to go out some time?"

Ham sat up, all of the good humor gone from her voice. "I don't know you, and all I've heard is that you're a jerk who likes to talk girls half your age into having sex with you. If you have any interest in me beyond sex, you'll have to prove it to me." There was silence on the other end of the phone, and she smirked. "Oh, and just a tip—falling asleep while I play piano isn't exactly the way to go about doing it." She hung up, and turned to Manny. "So, what were you saying about Craig?"

Manny and Emma exchanged a look. "I'd say Jay is a little more interesting than Craig right now."

Ham groaned. "Not exactly. Like you said, Emma, he's just a jerk who wants to get into my pants. I couldn't care less."

"Your little lecture suggests otherwise," Manny teased.

"If she doesn't want to talk about him, she doesn't have to," Emma said. "Manny, do tell us about Craig. We must warn our new friend."

Manny rolled her eyes. "Right. Well, it started when he…"

7


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Breathe Me

**Pairing:** Mostly Jay/Other, Emma/Manny to some extent

**Warnings:** Probably eventually sex, but nothing yet.

**Word Count:** 1396

**Rating:** PGish for now

**Spoilers:** Some of Jay's history

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**Author's Note:** Again, I know the timeline is weird. Just ignore it. And sorry it took so long for me to update; my life has been hell, and things are slow moving. Hopefully more chapters soon though. And remember, the more you review, the faster the chapters will come, kay?

_Breathe Me  
_

"So, what's with the name Ham?" Jay asked, leaning against the doorway of the boiler room.

Ham didn't bother looking up from her keyboard as she said, "There are twenty-three hours of the day when I'm not playing piano. Talk to me then."

He came into the room, shutting the door behind himself before sitting down next to her. He picked up one of the songbooks scattered on the floor around him. "The Dresden Dolls? Never heard of them." He flipped through the pages, not bothered by her continued silence. "Whoever they are, they're hot. The nudity is not wasted on me." He glanced at her and her look of utter contempt, and switched tactics. "What do they sound like?"

Ham glanced at him. "Do you actually care at all?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

She stopped playing and stared at the keyboard. "Um…" Then her eyes lit up and her fingers flew across the keys, dissonant arpeggios flowing from the tinny speakers. "You can tell from the scars on my arms and the cracks in my hips and the dents in my car and the blisters on my lips that I'm not the carefulest of girls. You can tell from the…" She kept playing, hardly looking at her fingers as she got more and more into the song. By the time it ended, she was slamming the keys as hard as she could and all but screamed the last line. "I am the girl anachronism!" She looked at him, a fire in her eyes he hadn't seen before. "You should really check them out."

Jay stared at her and, without thinking about it, leaned forward and kissed her. He had time to register that her lips were chapped before she pushed him back. "Yeah, I don't think so." She covered her keyboard, pushed it against the wall and grabbed her books. "Pretending to be into my music hardly qualifies as proving anything to me. And next time, don't interrupt me playing. It won't end well for you." Ham left, slamming the door behind her. Jay stared after her, a mix of confusion, arousal and anger flooding him. Sean was right; he did have his work cut out for him.

-

"Ham? Have you been listening to a word I've said?"

She jerked in her seat, turning to Emma. "Sorry, what?"

"The environmental club is today, and we could really use your support. The dolphins aren't going to save themselves, y'know. What do you say?"

Ham's eyes drifted away as she said, "Yeah, sure."

Emma and Manny exchanged a look, Manny's considerably more amused than Emma's half-glare. "And what is that we'll be trying to save exactly?"

Ham looked back at her friend guiltily. "Um…The rainforests?"

Emma groaned. "I swear to god, Manny's bad enough with whatever boy she's obsessed with, the last thing we need is…Actually, Manny, you've been pretty quiet about guys lately. What's up?"

Manny shrugged. "Guess I've come to my senses. Boys are stupid. Maybe once they _mature a little…_" she said, raising her voice as Craig walked by. He smiled sarcastically at her, then went on his way. "See? What use do I have for boys when I've got the three of us?" She smiled, putting an arm around Ham and reaching across the table to pat Emma on the shoulder. "You guys are all I need."

Emma snorted. "Yeah, right. Can't wait to see how long this lasts."

Manny look at her, hurt. "I thought you'd be proud of me."

Emma laughed. "Yeah, if I thought you actually meant it. All this means is that you're crushing on someone you shouldn't be, and it has to be someone bad for even you to realize you need to keep quiet about it."

Manny flushed. "Yeah, right."

Ham glanced at Manny, then at Emma, and then back at Manny. "Yeah, I could totally see that working." She grinned, and pounded Manny on the shoulder. "Go for it."

Both girls stared at Ham. "As if," Manny said at the same time Emma said, "You're crazy."

Ham laughed. "It could totally work! Besides, I need something to bother you two about if you're going to keep up with the whole Jay thing, which, I can assure you, isn't going to happen?"

After an uncomfortable glance at Manny, Emma asked, "So he really hasn't talked to you since last night? That hardly sounds like him."

This time it was Ham's turn to blush. "I never said that," she mumbled.

Manny elbowed her. "Tell, tell! It must be bad to make you blush like that."

Ham looked away. Jay was leaning against the far wall, making no effort to hide the fact that he was staring at her. He smiled, and tipped at invisible top hat at her. She quickly looked back at Manny. "It's nothing. He just discovered that I spend mornings in the boiler room, so he's taken to stalking me when I'm down there."

"Actually, Ham, why do you spend all your time down there? Don't you have a piano at home?" Manny asked.

Ham nearly choked on her sandwich. "I, uh, no. Not exactly." She saw Emma about to open her mouth and quickly added, "He kissed me."

Emma stared at her. "And you let him?"

"No, of course not." She took a huge bite of her sandwich before saying something else that came out incomprehensible.

"What was that?" Emma asked.

"He's not _that_ bad a kisser," she said after swallowing. "You made it out as if he tried to eat your face off."

"And he didn't?"

"Hardly."

Emma sniffed. "Good for him. He's learned how to kiss." She glanced at Manny. "You've been quiet. Don't tell me you approve of Jay using Ham the same way he used me."

"No, of course not. I—"

The bell rang, and the cafeteria quickly became a mess of everyone trying to get out as quickly as possible. Ham stood up to leave, but Manny grabbed her arm. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She glanced at Emma, then at the clock. "Yeah, make it quick."

Manny led them out of a side exit, then turned to face her friend. "Are things okay at home?"

Ham's concerned look hardened. "Sure, why wouldn't they be?"

"You haven't said anything about it, or invited Emma and I over. I wouldn't have said anything, but you knew how Emma would react to Jay kissing you, but you'd rather talk about that than a piano. Did he kiss you at all?"

Ham glared at her. "Yes, he did. I suppose you think I'm lying about everything else, too?"

"What? No! Ham, I know what it's like to have a messed up home life, and—"

"You have no idea what's going on," Ham snapped. "I have to get to class." She brushed past Manny and disappeared around a corner before anything else could be said. Manny stared after her, chewing on her lip. She wanted to do something, the only question was what…

"Whispering about me?"

Manny whirled around to see Jay coming out of the cafeteria. "What're you doing here?"

"Coming to check on my favorite girls," he said, grinning. "One of who doesn't seem to happy with the other. Still fighting over me, eh?"

Manny glared at him. "Hardly." Her eyes suddenly widened, and she grabbed Jay's arm. "You moved out on your own ages ago, right?"

He took a step back. "Yeah. Why?"

"I think Ham's having problems at home, serious ones, but she won't talk to me. Can you try talking to her?"

"I'm assuming she doesn't know you told me?"

"No, but…" Manny's face fell. "Was this one of those times where I was supposed to keep my mouth shut?"

Jay smiled, not at all the one Manny was used to. He looked serious, and almost sad. "Probably, but I'm glad you didn't. Thanks, Manny." He touched her shoulder, then left.

Manny sighed, wondering how madly she'd messed things up.

6


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Breathe Me

**Pairing:** Mostly Jay/Other, some Emma/Manny

**Warnings:** Probably eventually sex, but nothing yet.

**Word Count:** 1584

**Rating:** PG-13 for language

**Spoilers****:** Not today.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**Author's Note: **Totally went in a different direction than I was planning on, but that's okay! Hope you like

_Breathe Me_

"Birdie Antoinette Cunningham, born January 18th, 1990 in Cambridge, Mass. Lived in Boston, Mass. until—"

"Where did you get that?"

Jay looked up from the folder he was holding. "Jay gets what Jay wants." He turned back to the papers. "—until 2000, when you moved to Austin, Texas. You stayed there until you moved up here a few weeks ago."

"Stop it."

He flipped a page. "It says you have family problems, but it doesn't say what. In general, that means—"

"In general has nothing to do with my family," she said coldly. "Get out."

"Ham, I hardly know you and I'm worried about you. So's Manny. Why can't—"

"Manny told you to talk to me?" Her eyes were blazing, and she stood up, grabbing her bag and walking towards him. "What else did she tell you? That I'm crazy? That I can't take care of myself? You have no idea how wrong she is. I'm the only sane one in my family. Sam and I." By now she was only a few inches away from him. "You want to know the truth? You can't handle the truth."

He tried to smile at the reference, but it was so clearly not a joke he couldn't. "I just want you to be able to talk to me."

"Give me one good reason. You've slept with one of my best friends, stolen another's phone, and broken into the school's files. Why on earth should I trust you?"

In the distance the bell rang, but neither of them paid any attention to it. "Because I'm asking you to?"

Ham snorted. "Yeah. Right. Real convincing. See you later." She brushed past him, then turned back. "Meet me outside The Dot after school."

Jay watched her leave, the folder clutched loosely in one hand. There had to be something he could do for this strange girl, the one he cared about so much.

-

"Jay, what the hell?"

He grinned, handing her the roses. "I dunno, I thought you could use some cheering up."

Ham smelled then, and smiled back. "A dozen roses, and you've only known me a few days. Maybe diamonds aren't out of the question."

Jay looked around. "Don't tell anyone I'm nice."

"Yeah, whatever. Come on." Ham started walking away from The Dot.

He jogged to catch up. "I thought we were going to The Dot."

"I said to meet me outside, not inside. There's a really nice café not too far from here that has the added benefit of the fact that I haven't seen a single person from Degrassi there, and I've been going every day since I've moved here."

"As long as there's coffee."

Ham smiled. "That there is."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, Ham shooting down any attempt at conversation. She eventually turned into a tiny café that Jay wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't with her. It smelled of incense, and it was dark enough that it took his eyes a few minutes to adjust. It looked like someone's attic—there were overstuffed chairs clustered around small tables, and dark reddish-orange cloth hung on all the walls.

"Birdie, so lovely to see you again today. And you have a man with you?" A small, plump woman with a heavy accent came out of the shadows, ushering them over to a table in the corner.

Ham smiled. "His name is Jay, Mrs. Kovalenko, and he's just a friend."

The woman smiled shrewdly at her. "Whatever you say, devotchka. I will go get tea, yes?"

"Yes, please," Ham replied. The woman left, disappearing into a back room.

"How do you meet these people?" Jay asked, taking in the room. "I've lived her my whole life, and I've never been here."

Ham shrugged, smiling. "Mrs. Kovalenko is very nice, and the tea is amazing."

Jay grimaced. "You said coffee."

She shrugged. "You've said a lot of things. Jay gets what Jay wants, remember? Ham wants tea, Ham gets tea."

He groaned. "Am I really that annoying?"

"Much, much worse. Tea is hardly confidential," Ham replied, her voice somewhere between joking and accusatory.

"Can we just drop it?"

"Hey, you're the one who's so goddamned interested in me."

Jay tried to read her expression, but she had curled up in a corner of the chair, and shadows obscured most of her face. Her eyes were sparking, though, and he realized there were candles on all of the tables. Settling back into his comfort zone, he said, "For someone who's supposedly only my friend, you sure took me to a romantic place."

"See, I am not the only one thinking you are, how you say, very close?" Mrs. Kovalenko said, appearing next to them holding a tray with tea and a kind of pastry Jay hadn't seen before.

Ham glared at Jay before accepting the food. "Thank you, Mrs. Kovalenko. And don't mind Jay, really. It's all in his head."

She laughed and left them, talking to herself in Russian as she went.

Ham poured herself a cup of tea, and Jay had to admit it smelled good. "Could you be any more arrogant?"

"Hey, you're the one who invited me here," he said, taking a bite of one of the pastries. "This is really good," he said, spraying crumbs everywhere.

She rolled her eyes. "When you're not being nice, you really are an asshole. Your ability to switch seamlessly from one to the other is truly breathtaking."

Jay smirked at her and took a tiny bite with his pinky out. "Is that better?" he asked.

"Whatever." Ham blew on her tea before taking a sip. "You should really try the tea."

"Tea is for girls and homos."

Ham glared at him. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." She closed her eyes, and sighed. "Maybe this was a mistake."

Jay sat up, locking eyes with her. "No. I want to help."

"See, there you go again! I don't get it, Jay. Are you just a jerk who's trying to get into my pants, or do you genuinely care?"

"Of course I'm an asshole, a jerk, whatever you want to call me. I'm good at it, and I enjoy it. It gets me places in life. It might not be the most noble thing, but whatever. I never said I was noble. But, I do care. God knows why, I barely know you, but I do. If you can put up with me, I'm here. And," he added with a lecherous wink, "If you want me in your pants, I'm there, too."

Ham didn't say anything, just sat and sipped her tea. She didn't look at him, either, or give him any clue as to what she was thinking. Mostly to prove that he meant what he said, Jay poured himself tea and took a sip. It was good, dark and full of spices he didn't know.

"It's not bad," he said begrudgingly.

She smiled slightly. "Told you." She finished her cup, and started nibbling on one of the pastries.

Jay looked around him; this place had nothing to do with him. Neither did Ham, really. The longer she didn't say anything, the more uncomfortable he got. He shifted in his chair, and glanced at his watch.

"You can go if you want."

"We came here to talk, right? Then talk," he said bluntly.

She smiled at him. "You're really not used to this, aren't you?"

"Used to what?"

"Someone who doesn't automatically do what you want," Ham said. "Someone you can't bully."

Jay looked up at the ceiling. It was painted the same color as the cloth on the walls, and pipes ran along the edges. "When you put it that way…"

Ham laughed quietly. "I'd offer a change of venue, but I'm still not going to be your bitch."

"Oh, come on. I never said—"

"You didn't have to." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. You're not exactly the easiest person to open up to, y'know?"

The incense was making his head fuzzy, and the flickering candlelight didn't help. "I need to go." He stood up, bumping the table and spilling tea everywhere.

"Jay, wait!"

He walked out, pacing the street in front of the café. What the hell did he think he was doing? Whatever interest he had had in Ham had all but vanished, and he couldn't figure out where it had come from in the first place. When she came outside a minute later, he turned away and started walking back the way they had come.

"Jay, what the hell?"

He spun around. "All you've done is insult me, drag me to places I don't want to go to with promises to tell me things that, by your own account, I don't want to hear, and then shut up. What's your problem?"

Ham looked like he had slapped her. "Emma was right about you," she said. "Leave me the fuck alone." She set off in the opposite direction from him, and Jay stared reached into his pocket, pulling out an empty pack of cigarettes.

He kicked the wall. "Fuck!"

6


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Breathe Me

**Pairing:** Mostly Jay/Other, some Emma/Manny

**Warnings:** Probably eventually sex, but nothing yet.

**Word Count:** 1483

**Rating:** PG-13 for sure.

**Spoilers:** Nope.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**Author's Note:** Hmm...Wasn't quite sure where this was going until I wrote it, but I'm pretty sure it turned out well. Enjoy!

_Breathe Me_

After what seemed like an age, the front door opened. Ham immediately saw him sitting on the sidewalk and closed the door as quickly as she could, locking it behind herself.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" she snapped, walking over to him.

Jay stood up, hands held up in surrender. "Peace?"

"Why?"

"Because, against all odds, I'm actually sorry." He laughed bitterly. "You have no idea how many girls would kill to hear me say that."

"That—you—" Ham glanced at her house, then back at Jay. "Come on, we can't do this here." She grabbed his arm, dragging him in the direction of school. "First you start showing up in the boiler room all the time, and now at my house? Do you have any concept of personal space?"

He stopped, shaking free of her grip. "My car is parked in front of your house. We can—"

Ham's eyes widened. "Fuck! Come on, we have to move it." She started back to it, then shouted over her shoulder when she noticed he wasn't following, "Now! Come on!"

He jogged to catch up with her, but stopped short, standing in front of the passenger's side door instead of getting in on the driver's side. "Why?"

She looked at her house, then back at him. "Jay, seriously. We have to go."

Jay grinned at her. "I'll move it when you tell me why it's so important."

"I can't," she said, eyes pleading as they flicked between him and her house.

"Then we aren't going anywhere."

The door suddenly flew open and a tall, stately woman flew out, screaming unintelligibly about something Jay couldn't understand. He thought he caught something about "the technologies" and "must be stopped" before a man ran after her, yelling at her to come back inside before someone called the police. She reached the car before he reached her and started pounding on it.

"Hey! Stop it!" Jay yelled, grabbing her and trying to pull her back. Her muscles were ridged beneath his grip, and he was amazed at how strong she was. But a moment later the man reached them and, between then two of them, they managed to pry her off the car.

"Can you help me get her inside?" the man yelled over her continuing screams.

"Yeah, sure," Jay shouted back. He looked for Ham, but she had disappeared. It was hard work, but halfway up the front steps she went limp, which made the rest of the trip easier. Then man guided him into a nicely furnished living room, where they put her down on the couch.

Jay took a deep breath, wiping sweat off his forehead as the man introduced himself.

"I'm James Cunningham, Birdie's dad. That's Lenore, her mom. I'm sorry you had to see her like that; it's not normally so bad." He paused. "Thanks for helping me get her inside. It tends to be a two man job, and it's a hell of a lot easier when neither of those people are cops."

Ham picked that moment to appear, bouncing a sniffling baby in her arms. She looked anywhere but Jay as she asked, "Is Mom okay?"

Mr. Cunningham sighed. "She will be once she's back on her meds. I'll go get them ready," he said, leaving.

Still holding the baby, Ham walked over to where her mom was lying. She brushed a lock of dark red hair out of her face and, managing to do it with only one hand, pulled a blanket over her.

"Should I go move my car?" Jay asked, his voice sounding too loud in the quiet room.

"Yeah, that'd be good," she replied. "If you don't mind waiting, I should be ready to go to school in five or ten minutes."

"Do you want me to wait outside?" he asked.

Ham sighed, a perfect reflection of her father. "You should probably come in," she said. "At this point, there's not much left to hide."

"Okay," he said, and left. When he came back inside, Ham's dad was kneeling by her mom, giving her a shot. Ham sat in a chair, the baby asleep in her lap. She brought her finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet. He nodded, sitting in the chair next to hers.

"This is Sam," she whispered. "He's my baby brother."

Jay smiled. "He's cute."

Ham smiled back, but the dark circles under her eyes and the weariness on her face told another story. "I'm going to go put him back in his crib; I'll be down in a minute."

Mr. Cunningham finished with the shot as she left, and he leaned back on his heels, squatting in front of his wife. There was a tray with medical supplies on it next to him, and that was where he put the empty needle and tourniquet. He carefully put her arm on the couch, and turned to Jay.

"Sorry, what did you say your name was?"

Jay stood up, and shook hands. "Jay Hogart," he said. "I'm a friend of Ham's."

He smiled. "So Birdie's got you calling her that, too." He shook his head, amused. "She never was one to do what she was told."

Jay smiled back. "No, she's certainly not."

Mr. Cunningham turned back to his wife. "Did she tell you about Lenore?"

"No," Jay replied. There was more he wanted to say, but for once he held back.

"Lenore is schizophrenic. She's fine when she's on her meds, which is most of the time, but every now and then she goes off them, and then…" He trailed off, gesturing at her. "You saw."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Ham said, coming back into the room. She had her bag with her, and looked impatient. "Come on, let's go."

Jay grinned apologetically. "I guess I need to go. Nice to meet you, Mr. Cunningham."

"James, please," he said, reaching out to shake hands. "I hope you'll come back sometime when things are calmer."

"Yeah, I'm sure he will," Ham interrupted, again grabbing Jay's arm and dragging him towards the door. "Bye, Dad."

"See you tonight," he said.

Ham pulled Jay outside, and shut the door behind herself. "Where's your car?"

"Around the block," he said, leading her in that direction. "Ham, I—"

"Don't. Take me to school, and if you know what's good for you, you won't say a word."

"I—"

"That's a word. Shut up, Jay."

"Can I at least ask about the name Birdie?"

"Shut up."

Miraculously, he did.

-

They got to school a few minutes later, and apparently everything at Ham's house had taken longer than Jay had thought, because the parking lot was mostly full and lots people were milling around.

"Oh, shit," Ham swore, sliding down in the seat. "Did Emma and Manny see me?"

Jay spared her an amused look in between looking for parking spaces. "Do they really hate me that much?"

"Emma does. Manny's more amused." She paused. "I think Manny likes Emma."

He laughed. "That would be so hot."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ham mumbled. "Just find a spot, would you? I don't want to be late."

-

"Did I actually see Jay giving you a ride to school?" Manny whispered, keeping an eye out for Mr. Simpson.

Ham glanced at Emma, who was sitting a few rows over. "Does Emma know?"

"No, but I don't know how long that'll last. What happened?"

"He showed up at my house this morning and gave me a ride," Ham whispered. "That's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. By the way, next time you talk to anyone, especially Jay, about what may or may not be going on at my house, I swear to god I'll—"

"You'll do nothing, Miss Cunningham, at least not in my class. Stop talking, and now," Mr. Simpson said, materializing behind them.

"Yes, Mr. Simpson," they chorused.

"Good," he said, moving on. "Now, about advertising…Can anyone tell me when the first color advertising began?"

"Did he try to kiss you again?" Manny asked.

Ham snorted. "Hardly." She paused. "He did sort of, um, give me roses."

"He _what_?" Manny whispered. "This morning?"

"Yesterday. He being all, 'Oh, I'm worried about your home life, can we talk?' and so I took him to this café and he flipped out and started screaming about how he couldn't deal, and then this morning he came over and—"

"Ham! Manny! One more warning and it's detention."

"Yes, Mr. Simpson."

"We're finishing this later," Manny hissed before turning back to her computer.

6


End file.
